Working in partnership with the Cambodian government, Cambodian broadcasters, and a range of international and local organisations, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service Trust (WST) launched a multifaceted mass media campaign in 2003 in an effort to help stop the spread of HIV and AIDS, improve care and support for people living with HIV, and improve the health of Cambodia's mothers and children. The co-ordinated campaign consisted of a television soap opera, 3 radio phone-in and discussion programmes, television and radio public service announcements (PSAs), and a print magazine.

Specifically, 100 episodes of a hospital television soap opera, 'Rous Cheat Chivit' ('Taste of Life') were broadcast in an effort to change attitudes and behaviour around HIV and AIDS. In addition, each month, 666,000 copies of a photo-strip magazine were produced and distributed to the public by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The weekly youth radio phone-in programme 'Really?' encourages young people to air their views and ask questions about taboo subjects, including safe sex and drug abuse. 'Real Men' is a radio discussion programme encouraging men to talk about sensitive subjects, including how married couples can negotiate condom use. Ninety-nine shows of the maternal and child health radio phone-in programme 'First Steps' were broadcast. Finally, BBC WST produced 23 television and 22 radio public service announcements (PSAs) about child and maternal health. In the space of a year, the radio PSAs were broadcast more than 35,000 times across 11 radio stations.

Prior to broadcasting the programmes in the spring of 2004, BBC WST carried out quantitative baseline surveys. A 'midline' survey was conducted a year later, in the spring of 2005, to assess changes and measure the reach of the programmes. An 'endline' survey was carried out in the spring of 2006 to assess the impact of the programmes.

• 99% of media consumers had heard or seen one or more of the programmes in the month before the endline survey;
• 88% of radio listeners heard the PSA about breastfeeding on the radio and 83% of all media consumers saw the PSA about breastfeeding on television;
• 78% of all media consumers and 94% of television viewers had seen at least one of the PSAs about HIV and AIDS;
• 68% of all media consumers and 83% of television viewers had watched 'Taste of Life';
• 14% of all media consumers and 17% of sexually active men listened to 'Real Men'; and
• 18% of all media consumers and 17% of sexually active men listened to 'Really?'

• 37% of television and radio audiences said they were discussing HIV and AIDS more often;
• 27% felt they were talking about condoms more often; and
• Talking 'sometimes' or 'regularly' about HIV testing rose to 63%.

• Knowledge of the benefits of breastfeeding immediately after birth rose from 38% to 67%; and
• Parents' awareness of acute respiratory illnesses in children rose from 20% to 80% during the campaign.

The attitude that it was acceptable for women to buy condoms increased from 60% to 80%.

• The number of people who said they washed their hands to avoid diarrhoea increased from 10% to 25%;
• The number of children who were taken to health centres with signs of acute respiratory illness rose from 51% to 70%;
• The practice of taking of iron tablets before and after birth rose from 10% to 44%; and
• The practice of visiting a clinic for an antenatal checkup increased from 49% to 68%.

The prevalence of those reporting a child in their care with diarrhoea in the last month decreased from 17% to 13%.

BBC WST newsletter, August 2008; Media Campaign Improves Health in Cambodia; and Research and Impact: Cambodia Mass Media Campaign .